The College Years
by AliciaFishy
Summary: AU. Troyella. Troy and Gabriella are good kids, but what happens when they get tired of that?
1. The Neighbor

A/N: I'm well aware that most of you hate me. But, I can't help the fact that I get tired of writing stuff. Which is why I have gotten ahead on this story.  I really hope you enjoy it

--

The College Years

Chapter One "The Neighbor"

--

Gabriella Montez had always been perceived as perfect. She had never been to a party. She had never done drugs. She had never had sex. She had never had even a tiny sip of alcohol. She had never really seen the point to all of that stuff. It had earned her the best GPA though. Her tuition would be paid for at any school she had chosen.

That was when things got slightly messy. Gabriella had not decided to go to Princeton, Yale, or Harvard. Instead she had chosen the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. No one understood her reasoning.

Her freshman year had been slightly rough for her. She had never spent more than three days away from her best friend, Taylor McKessie. Here she was thousands of miles away from her for at least four years. Making friends was not simple due to the fact that she wasn't interested in parties. She had gotten rather close with her dorm mate, Sharpay Evans though. Sharpay was the cutest thing Gabriella had ever seen. She had the classic southern accent yet she was a complete drama queen. Sharpay's twin brother, Ryan, was also a good friend.

This year was slightly different though. She had decided to not stay in a dorm. Gabriella, Sharpay, and Ryan had gotten a cute apartment in town.

--

"Gabs, set that box in my room?" Ryan asked. They were almost finished moving in and Gabi was so ready to take a nap. She had not done so much physical work in years.

"Sure," she replied with a smile. After dropping the box in his room she headed to her own room. They were extremely lucky to have found a three bedroom apartment near campus. They had gotten it at exactly the right time, thanks to Sharpay and Ryan's dad. He was willing to do anything to keep his children close to home.

Gabriella sighed as she fell backwards on to her unmade bed. Usually she would have been freaking out due to the mess around her room, but at this point she was too tired to care. She was asleep within two minutes.

She was disturbed from her peaceful slumber about an hour later. She heard an unfamiliar voice in the apartment. It would have scared her if she hadn't also heard Ryan's laughter. She slowly got up and 

fumbled into the living room. When her eyes met those perfect blue ones of the stranger, her breath stopped.

"Oh, Gabs, meet our neighbor, Troy. He stopped by to give us some cookies," Ryan smiled.

Gabriella smiled nervously as she sat down on the couch. "Hi, Troy, it's a pleasure to meet you," she said coyly.

Troy grinned at her, "The pleasure is all mine," he replied.

The three of them made small talk while munching on the cookies Troy had bought. He had confessed that they were store bought, but Gabi didn't care. She discovered that Troy was her age. He had grown up in Moundville, Alabama which was just south of Tuscaloosa. He was going to school to be a basketball coach.

His voice was what drove her mad though. After a year in the south one would think she was used to that sexy southern accent, but something about his long draw sent chill bumps down her spine.

Ryan could tell that there was an attraction between the two. He made up some lame excuse to disappear into his bedroom.

"So, Gabriella, do you like the south?" Troy asked.

She smiled, "I love the south. I'm pretty sure that I should have been born here," she giggled.

"I like it here. It's a lot easier to have morals in the south. Everyone goes to church on Sunday morning so it isn't expected for you to be out partying every night."

Gabi's smile grew and her eyes brightened, "Oh my gosh! I know exactly what you mean. I was the only one in my high school that had never been to a party. I'm just not in to that stuff."

Troy smiled "We're soul mates," he joked.

--

The next morning Gabriella, Ryan, Sharpay, and Troy headed to campus to get their books. Ryan had asked Troy to tag along. Gabriella could tell that Ryan had some sort of plan to get her and Troy together. She just hoped it wouldn't back fire.

After they had purchased all of their books, Ryan suggested that they go grab a bite for lunch. He didn't wait for anyone to answer. He took them to Pepito's, a small Mexican restaurant on the strip.

"I'm so ready to start class," Gabriella smiled.

"You would be ready," Ryan sighed. "I wish that the summer would never end."

"Same here," Sharpay agreed.

"I like the summer, but I'm ready to get college finished," Troy shrugged. "I guess I'm on Gabriella's side."

Ryan smirked in Gabriella's direction, causing her to blush. Just then, Troy's cell phone went off. He looked at the caller id and quickly excused himself.

"Gabs, he totally likes you," Ryan whispered after Troy was out of ear shot.

"I bet he doesn't. I bet that's his girlfriend calling,"

Ryan rolled his eyes as Troy returned. Something was obviously wrong by the worried look in his eyes.

"Guys, I really hate to ask this. But, I need to get to the hospital," he said in a panic.

"What's wrong?" Ryan asked.

"Can I explain in the car? I really need to get there."

Ryan didn't hesitate. He jumped out of the booth and sprinted for the door. Sharpay threw a twenty dollar bill on the table as she and Gabriella followed the boys to the car. Once they were on their way to DCH Medical Center, Troy quickly began to explain that his mom and little sister had been in some sort of car accident. His dad hadn't known much other than the fact that they would be arriving at DCH immediately.

When the group arrived at the hospital, Troy thanked them for the ride and said it wasn't necessary for them to wait.

"I feel bad leaving him," Gabriella said as they pulled away.

"Do you want to go sit with him?" Ryan asked.

"Yes, I do as a matter of fact."

That's exactly what Gabriella did to. Once she was in the emergency room waiting area, she spotted Troy sitting alone in a corner. She rushed over to him and was shocked to see the smile that she brought to his face.

"You came back?" he asked. "You're going to be awfully bored sitting out here," he mused.

"Well, we're friends, right?" she asked.

"I guess you could put it like that," he laughed.

"This is what friends are for."

"Gabi, you're a keeper," Troy smiled.


	2. The Family

A/N:

--

The College Years

Chapter 2 "The Family"

--

Troy and Gabriella had been waiting for what seemed like hours before Troy's dad showed up. No one had heard anything by then. Jack Bolton headed to the nurse's station to try to get some information. But, as soon as he was up there, a doctor stepped out and asked to speak with the Bolton family privately.

Troy motioned for Gabriella to follow, but the doctor objected.

"Only family members," he said quickly. Troy turned and looked at Gabriella, winking at her. He took her hand.

"Doesn't my wife count as family?" Troy asked. His father look slightly confused but didn't ask any questions. Gabriella smiled as the doctor shrugged and led them to a smaller, more private place.

He explained what had happened in the car accident. It had been a hit and run. Troy's mom and sister would be fine, but they would need to stay in the hospital overnight.

"When can we see them?" Jack asked.

"You can go see them now," the doctor smiled. He led explained to them where their rooms were located.

Once they were alone in the elevator Jack began to ask questions. Troy explained who Gabriella was and also explained that he didn't want to leave her alone in the waiting room when she had been so kind to not let him stay alone. That was when Gabriella realized that Troy was still holding her hand. Jack seemed to notice at the same time, but he didn't say anything.

"My sister's name is Hannah," Troy explained to Gabriella.

"His mom's name is Leanne," Jack added. Gabriella smiled and nodded.

"How old is Hannah?" she asked.

"Three," Troy responded quickly.

"Wow, quite a difference there," Gabriella giggled.

"Yeah, you can imagine what a shock it was to hear that I was not going to be an only child any more when I turned sixteen."

Jack shrugged, "It could've happened at any time. We just had more time for extracurricular activities once you were in high school."

"Ew," Troy sighed as the elevator dinged, indicating that they were on the floor they needed to be on.

They quickly found the room that Leanne and Hannah were sharing. When they stepped inside, the three of them were expecting to see them in the worst possible condition. They were quite surprised to only see a tiny cast on Hannah's arm and a sling on Leanne's. The cast didn't stop Hannah from being an active child. She was currently running around the hospital room while Leanne shouted at her, trying to calm her down. Hannah's path lead directly to where the visitor's were now standing. Troy reached his arms out and quickly scooped up his little sister, pulling her up enough so he could give her a kiss.

"TROY! You came to see us! You came all the way from college!" she yelled excitedly. Apparently Hannah had this idea that college was far away from home. Troy had told Gabriella the night before that he still went home for dinner once a week. "Who's the pretty girl you brought? Is she from college too?"

Gabriella laughed and waited for Troy's response.

"Yes, Hannah, she is from college. What do you think about her?" Troy asked.

"Hmm… well, she's too pretty for you. Why is she hanging out with someone so ugly?" Hannah asked, genuinely confused.

"I agree with Hannah," Leanne added in.

Troy shook his head and set Hannah on the ground, "Well, if you must be like that I suppose I'll leave you all alone to let Gabriella join the family."

Gabriella was laughing hysterically by this point. She was certain that she didn't look the least bit attractive anymore.

Troy's family loved Gabriella. For some reason that made Troy more comfortable too. He was holding her hand the whole time he was in the hospital room with her. The two of them excused their selves to find some food.

"Your family is really nice," Gabriella smiled as she walked with Troy.

"They really like you too," Troy said, looking down at Gabriella.

Troy insisted on paying for Gabriella's food from the cafeteria. Troy explained that Jack was going to stay overnight so they would take his car back to the apartment soon.

"You mean I am going to have to hang with the drama geeks again?" Gabriella asked with sarcasm.

"No, you don't have to," Troy smirked. "You could always stay over at my place."

Gabriella thought about it for a moment. She was scared to say yes, but she really wanted to.

"Really?" she asked.

"You can if you want to," he nodded.

"Okay, you're on, Mr. Bolton. I've never done something this daring, but what the heck?" she laughed.

--

"So, you're staying over there?" Ryan asked anxiously.

"Gabs isn't going to be a virgin for much longer!" Sharpay exclaimed.

Gabriella rolled her eyes as she threw the rest of her clothes in her overnight bag. "I'll be back sometime tomorrow. I love you. Don't spy on me."

"We would never!" Ryan exclaimed as Gabriella walked out the door.

She walked into Troy's apartment without knocking. He was supposed to be in the shower and had told her to just come in. But, when she walked in, there was Troy, naked.

"Oh my gosh! I thought I was supposed to just come in. I'm sorry," Gabriella exclaimed. She knew she should turn around, but she couldn't take her eyes off his body. Troy was momentarily in shock. He noticed Gabriella had a small smile on her face. She liked what she was seeing, which caused Troy to get slightly excited. He quickly brought the towel to his waist to hide his erection.

"No big deal," Troy said finally.

"Oh, it definitely isn't small," Gabriella mumbled before she realized what she was saying, "I mean, well… I meant exactly what I said," she said embarrassedly.

"Umm… thanks?" Troy replied.

Gabriella began to laugh and it didn't take long for Troy to join in.

"This is the most awkward situation I've ever been involved in," she giggled. "Go put some clothes on; I feel overdressed."

"I almost just told you to take off your clothes, then I realized how much more awkward that would've made this," he laughed as he walked back to his bedroom.


End file.
